Led by the Volkswagen Group and SEAT S.A., the project is made up of 62 companies, 61% of them SMEs, from 11 autonomous communities.

It’s the largest business grouping in the history of the automotive industry in Spain.

CETIM and its partner ENSO INNOVATION will analyze different technologies for the recovery of high-value metals from used automotive components within the framework of one of the primary projects of PERTE VEC F3, called RELOAD.

The aim of this research, led from Galicia, is to reduce dependence on imports of high-value materials and to promote a sustainable, circular industrial model with a smaller environmental footprint.

The partners of Future: Fast Forward, led by the Volkswagen Group and SEAT S.A., have today registered the PERTE project for the Electric and Connected Vehicle (ECV) with the ambition of turning Spain into a hub for electric vehicles in Europe. Formed by a total of 62 national, international and leading companies from different sectors, including the Galician companies CETIM Technological Centre and ENSO INNOVATIVON, it’s the largest business grouping in the history of the automotive industry in Spain.

It’s a project that brings together companies from 11 autonomous communities (Andalucía, Aragón, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Cataluña, Madrid, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Navarra and País Vasco), 61% of which are SMEs, and between them they cover the entire electric vehicle value chain.

The project presented today is made up of four main axes. The tractor project, led by SEAT S.A. and the Volkswagen Group, aims to electrify the Martorell and Pamplona factories. The second pillar of the business group’s project is the creation of the entire battery ecosystem for electric cars in Spain, ranging from lithium extraction in the mines to battery assembly, including a giant battery factory in Sagunto (Valencia).

The third axis includes the localization in Spain of essential components for electric vehicles, and the fourth includes areas related to training, digitalization and the circular economy. Overall, the project covers the nine blocks of the Electric and Connected Vehicle PERTE.

First partners’ meeting
Last Friday, the first general assembly of the Future: Fast Forward partners was held in Madrid, with the participation of representatives of all the companies that are part of the project. Marc Riera, Director of Purchasing Strategy and New Projects at SEAT S.A., has been appointed president of the general assembly of the Future: Fast Forward group, a representative body that will meet at least twice a year.

The members of Future: Fast Forward have also formed a Delegate Commission, which will meet regularly to ensure compliance with the PERTE. This commission will also be chaired by Marc Riera.

In addition, three governance committees have been created in association with this assembly. The Audit and Supervision Committee will be chaired by Blanca Montero, economist, independent member of the General Council of the ICO and member of the Board of Trustees of the Banco Sabadell Foundation. The Risk and Compliance Committee will be chaired by Ignacio González, lawyer, external advisor to the Board of Directors of Grupo Ferrer International S.A. & UNIRPROEDUCA. There will also be a Financial Committee, chaired by Ferran Rodríguez, an independent external, who currently chairs the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Spain. Each of these committees are independent and will report to the general assembly.

The group will also have a Project Management Office (PMO) which will be responsible for the exhaustive monitoring of the project evolution. It will control that the deadlines set and the budget items of the different investments are met. 

The primary project RELOAD
RELOAD is one of the primary projects of the PERTE VEC F3, framed within the axis four of training, digitalization and circular economy. Its objective is to contribute in an efficient and safe way to the supply of high-value metals in the industrial value chain of the Electric and Connected Vehicle (ECV), reducing dependence on imports and promoting a sustainable, circular industrial model with a smaller environmental footprint. In this context, different recycling, eco-design and Industry 4.0 technologies will be investigated to recover high-value metals present in electronic components, lithium-ion batteries and electric motors at the end of the useful life of the ECV, so that they can be incorporated back into the value chain establishing a circular model. The RELOAD consortium is made up of ENSO Innovation, leader of the proposal, SEAT, as leader of the F3 tractor project, CETIM, Técnicas Reunidas, ASAI Industrial, Balidea, University of Zaragoza and CSIC-CENIM.

In addition to its leading role, ENSO Innovation, an investee company of CETIM Technological Centre, will investigate biohydrometallurgical treatments for the recovery of metals of high interest from used automotive components. In addition, it will study target recognition technologies for the detection of critical ECV components in order to design, model and simulate automated cells for their extraction.

CETIM will focus on bioleaching processes for metals of interest also present in lithium-ion batteries, electric motors and ECV electronics compounds. It will also evaluate the selective recovery of metals by means of electrochemical technologies or selective adsorbents, among others. In another phase, it will analyze the creation of a digital map to quantify and locate the metals of interest in the ECV, in order to facilitate their use, recovery and reuse. It will also investigate the environmental impact of the technologies proposed for the recovery of metals

Future: Fast Forward project partners
Altech, Asai Industrial, AZTERLAN, Balidea, BeePlanet Factory, Bosch, Brose, CARTO, CELSA Group, CETIM, CIDETEC, CENIM – CSIC, CERLER Global Electronics, CYP Core, Delta Vigo, ENSO, Feníe Energía, FORMINSA, GCR Group, Gestamp, Glavista, Gonvarri, Grupo Sesé, Grupo Simoldes, Iberdrola, Intrustial, IMS Technology, Ingedetec, Instituto Universitario Investigación (CIRCE) Universidad Zaragoza, isEazy, ISEND, Kapture.io, Kautenik, Kivnon, Lazpiur, Leartiker, Libelium, Lithium Iberia, Malena Engineering, Mindcaps, Mol-Matric, Motorland Aragón, NTDD, NUTAI, Órbita Ingeniería, Pomceg Electronics, POWER Innotech, Power HoldCo Spain, SEAT CODE, SEAT MÓ, SEAT S.A., Silence, Grupo SPR, Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze, Técnicas Reunidas, TECOI, Valeo, Vega Chargers, Vicomtech, Volkswagen Navarra, WIP and Zylk.

Other collaborators in the Future: Fast Forward project are CaixaBank, Eurecat, FICOSA, ITAINNOVA and Telefónica España.